The red letters are a little faded on the blue pullover jersey, but there's no problem in seeing what they spell out: "USA."

The 92-year-old man is asked if he can still put on the jersey.

"It's been a long time, but if you help me, I can," he says, a little bent over from the years.

With some help, Wilbur "Moose" Thompson slowly slips the jersey over his head and straightens his back, proudly displaying the same jersey he wore on the winner's stand 50 years ago when he won a gold medal in the shot put in the Olympics in London.

"It still fits," he says with a smile.

Asked what the stain is on the front, Moose, still as competitive as he was in 1948, quickly replies, "That's the blood of the guy who finished second."

Moose is now living on the east side of Long Beach with Toni, one of his three daughters, and her husband, Laz. A graduate of USC, he's been a Long Beach resident since 1953.

For this interview, Moose brought out much of the memorabilia he has saved from the London Olympics, including, of course, his prized possession, the gold medal resting in a worn leather case.

Asked what conditions were like then in London, which was still recovering from the devastating bombings during World War II, Moose had one word: "Miserable."

The 1948 Olympics were the first held in 12 years because of World War II. The United States sent most of its athletes, including Moose Thompson, on a one-week voyage aboard the S.S. America to London. The London Olympics became known as the Austerity Games.

"We lived on Army cots, four to a room, in barracks on an air base outside the city," he said. "Food rationing was in effect. Some food was flown in from the United States. The food was decent, but for a guy like me with a big appetite, I lost a little weight."

In London, Moose was a long way from Frankfort, S.D., where he was born on April 6, l921. He didn't stay there long, however, as he moved with his father and mother to Modesto before his first birthday. It was in Modesto where he acquired his nickname, "Moose," and his love of the shot put.

"I was a sophomore at Modesto High and grew 7 inches over the summer," he recalled. "I got to 6 feet tall and weighed almost 200 pounds. That was pretty big in those days. That's when they started calling me Moose."

Because of what he called his "unusual strength" at an early age, and a good coach, Moose started heaving the shot put in track and field events. At the state track and field championships held at Wilson High School in Long Beach in the late 1930s, he won the state shot put title.

He moved on to Modesto Junior College and eventually USC, but his SC years were interrupted by three years serving in the Army during World War II.

After the war, he returned to SC, began competing again in shot put events and was named co-captain of the SC track team. He placed second in the NCAA shot put championships in 1946 and started thinking about the l948 Olympics.

His training program was grueling, and at one point, when things were not going well, he almost quit in disgust, saying, "I just can't do it anymore." But he persisted and made the U.S. Olympics team.

That led to what some observers called one of the great shot put duels of all time. The three American competitors - Moose Thompson, Jim Delaney and Jim Fuchs - broke the Olympic record nine times, with Moose emerging the winner with a toss of 56 feet, 2 inches - a new Olympic record (the old record was 53 feet, 1 3/4 inches).

But Moose wasn't finished. He had another throw and, in a misty rain, he heaved the 16-pound iron ball 57 feet, 8 3/4 inches.

"The fans exploded in loud roars, but the throw was ruled out because of a foul," Moose said. However, his throw of 56 feet, 2 inches stood up, and he won the gold medal.

A note: When I arrived for the interview, I knew Moose was an SC grad. I jokingly told him I would not hold that against him when I wrote this column because I was a huge Notre Dame fan.

But Moose remembered my comment and, almost gleefully, he told me that Jim Delaney, who came in second and won the silver medal, was from Notre Dame. "Here's another case of a damn SC guy beating a Notre Dame guy again," he said with a laugh.

After the London Olympics, Moose, who had two degrees from SC in education and mechanical engineering, returned to SC to get a master's degree in petroleum engineering. He worked for the Richfield Oil Corp., which became Arco, before moving to a state job as chief of the Mineral Resources Management Division of the State Lands Commission.

In his state job, he worked closely with the City of Long Beach in development of the oil fields here and including issues like oil revenue sharing and the oil subsidence problem that was causing parts of Long Beach to sink.

He retired from the State Lands Commission in 1991 with accolades from the California Legislature.

Moose is moving a little slower these days, not only because of age but also because of congestive heart failure, which hit him six months ago. "I have to watch what I eat and stay off the salt. Salt is the worst thing for you," he said.

Moose said he is looking forward to the Summer Olympics this year, but he will be watching on TV from his living room.

"Everything is run by TV now," he said. "They didn't even have TV when I was in London in 1948. The pageantry now is incredible. All we had 50 years ago were guys wearing those big hats."

And he's keeping up with the latest in the world of shot putting. He predicts that Reese Hoffa, representing the United States from Athens, Ga., will win the gold medal in the shot put competition in London.

"He's a little bigger than I am," Moose said, showing me a photo of him with Hoffa, who weighs in at 315 pounds, slightly more than Moose at his heaviest of 200 pounds.

With competitors bulking up - along with shot putters now throwing from a hard surface - distances are getting longer. The Olympic record is now 73 feet, 8 inches, set in 1988 in Korea.

Still, Moose was such a fierce competitor, you almost get the feeling that, if he were a little younger, he would like to try hurling that 16-pound iron ball again.

Putting on that Olympic USA jersey again brought back glorious memories for Moose.

"It was the high point of my life," he said, waving goodbye to his guests.